About Us

Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson have been sharing innovative and ground-breaking training techniques through X-Rep.com since 2004. Here’s more about us…

Steve Holman: Steve has been training for 40 years and was a member of the IM Training & Research Center for 20 years. He was IRON MAN Magazine’s Editor in Chief for more than 27 years, has written more than 20 books on bodybuilding, weight training and nutrition and his POF-based “Train, Eat, Grow” series appeared monthly in IRON MAN magazine.

Jonathan Lawson: Jonathan has been training for 24 years, competed in numerous bodybuilding competitions and was a member of the IRON MAN Training & Research Center for 20 years. He wrote “20 Pounds of Muscle in 10 Weeks” and contributed to the POF-based “Train, Eat, Grow” series which appeared monthly in IRON MAN Magazine.

Body Types

Steve is one of those below-average trainees, a.k.a. a hardgainer with more endurance-oriented fibers. That means that on any given set his nervous system tends to fizzle long before he can train the target muscle hard enough to stimulate growth. In other words, his nervous system fails before his muscles do significant work. It’s believed that the average person contracts less than 50 percent of the fast-twitch fibers on any given set, and hardgainers probably contract even fewer—20 to 30 percent—thanks to premature nervous system failure. Adding X Reps to the end of one set of each exercise has helped minimize that problem, extending the tension time on the key fast-twitch fibers with the most growth potential. X Reps have helped eliminate the need for adding sets to solve the nerve-force problem, stimulating more fast-twitch fibers in any one set. Supersets and drop sets also help in that regard, as he, along with most hardgainers, has an endurance-oriented fiber composition (even a lot of his fast-twitch fibers appear to have an endurance lean).

Jonathan has more fast-twitch fibers than Steve and is therefore more mesomorphic—has less difficulty putting on mass and getting stronger. He can make good gains on a few heavy straight sets, but X Reps have significantly increased his growth production—and they, along with drop sets and supersets, have also enhanced his vascularity and detail. Even though he has above-average genetics, he still finds that his nervous system craps out before his muscles on any given set, which is why X Reps have given his muscle-building efforts new life. That technique allows him to leapfrog nervous system failure for more fast-twitch fiber stimulation. X Reps have also allowed him to reduce his training volume, which means he has more recovery ability to fuel growth.

The e-books on this site were written to help you get closer to your physical potential with sensible bodybuilding strategies. Weight training is a demanding activity, however, so it is highly recommended that you consult your physician and have a physical examination prior to beginning a weight-training program. Any comments provided are for general information purposes only and do not represent medical advice. Proceed with the suggested diets, exercises and routines at your own risk.

Results using the programs and diets in these e-books vary from individual to individual. Testimonial endorsers’ results using it may be considered atypical.